Most African American cities in Montana research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Montana’s most recent Census data to determine the cities with the largest Black population, based on the percentage of Black residents.
The city with the largest African American population in Montana is Lewistown (1.0% Black); the least is Whitefish (0.0%). Statewide, Montana is 0.4% Black — the 50th blackest state in the country.
Roughly 42 million people identifying as Black or African American live in the United States, about 12% of the total population. In Montana, the Black population is 4,532, at 0.4% of the state total.
We broke down the most recent Census data to determine the cities in Montana with the largest African American population in 2026.
#1 most African American in Montana
Located in
Fergus County, Montana
Lewistown is a city in and the county seat of Fergus County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,901 at the 2010 census. Lewistown is located in central Montana, the geographic center of the state, southeast of Great Falls. First planned in 1882, it was the site of an 1880s gold rush.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 most African American in Montana
Located in
Cascade County, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The 2015 census estimate put the population at 59,638. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County and has a population of 82,278. Great Falls was the largest city in Montana from 1950 to 1970, when Billings surpassed it. Great Falls remained the second largest city in Montana until 2000, when it was passed by Missoula. Since then Great Falls has been the third largest city in the state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 most African American in Montana
Located in
Gallatin County, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2010 census put Bozeman’s population at 37,280 and by 2016 the population rose to 45,250, making it the fourth largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, MT Micropolitan Statistical Area, consisting of all of Gallatin County with a population of 97,304. It is the largest Micropolitan Statistical Area in Montana and is the third largest of all of Montana-s statistical areas.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 most African American in Montana
Located in
Lewis and Clark County, Montana
Helena is the state capital of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 most African American in Montana
Located in
Yellowstone County, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the state of Montana, and the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area with a population of 166,855. It has a trade area of over half a million people.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 most African American in Montana
Located in
Missoula County, Montana
Missoula is a city in the U.S. state of Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluences with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot Rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, thus is often described as the “hub of five valleys”. In 2016, the United States Census Bureau estimated the city’s population at 72,364 and the population of the Missoula Metropolitan Area at 116,130. In the 1990s, Missoula overtook GreatFalls as Montana-s secondlargest city, behind Billings. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, a public research university.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 most African American in Montana
Located in
Yellowstone County, Montana
Laurel is a city in Yellowstone County, Montana, United States. It is the third largest community in the Billings Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is located in the Yellowstone Valley, as an east-west terminal division point of the Burlington-Northern Railroad. The population was 6,781 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 most African American in Montana
Located in
Hill County, Montana
Havre is the county seat and largest town in Hill County, Montana, in the United States. It is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France. As of the 2010 census the population was 9,310, and in 2016 the estimated population was 9,846.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 most African American in Montana
Deer Lodge County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,298. It forms a consolidated city-county government with its county seat of Anaconda. The county was founded in 1865.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 most African American in Montana
Located in
Gallatin County, Montana
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Montana’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Montana’s Black communities live
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Montana With The Largest Black Population For 2026
We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across Montana.
That leads us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2020-2024 American Community Survey data from the US Census.
Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
Our particular column of interest was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.
We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 6,000 people in Montana. That left us with 15 cities.
We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 1.0% to 0.0%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the Black population, with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Lewistown took the distinction of being the most Black, while Whitefish was the least African American city.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Montana with the largest African American population.
The full plate
African American Population By City In Montana
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | African American Population | % African American |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewistown | 6,087 | 63 | 1.0% |
| 2 | Great Falls | 60,329 | 590 | 1.0% |
| 3 | Bozeman | 56,114 | 453 | 0.8% |
| 4 | Helena | 33,639 | 270 | 0.8% |
| 5 | Billings | 119,434 | 507 | 0.4% |
| 6 | Missoula | 76,514 | 319 | 0.4% |
| 7 | Laurel | 7,215 | 30 | 0.4% |
| 8 | Havre | 9,258 | 34 | 0.4% |
| 9 | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County | 9,597 | 34 | 0.4% |
| 10 | Belgrade | 11,872 | 33 | 0.3% |
| 11 | Kalispell | 28,504 | 30 | 0.1% |
| 12 | Miles City | 8,407 | 4 | 0.0% |
| 14 | Livingston | 8,780 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 14 | Sidney | 6,171 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 14 | Whitefish | 8,749 | 0 | 0.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 15 cities with more than 6,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Black Populations Across Montana
If you’re looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Montana according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.
The blackest cities in Montana are Lewistown, Great Falls, Bozeman, Helena, Billings, Missoula, Laurel, Havre, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, and Belgrade. Not sold on Montana? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
